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FRONTLINE's The Undertaking

FRONTLINE: The Undertaking

Funeral Documentary "The Undertaking" Wins Emmy AwardOn September 22, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced the winners of the 29th Annual News and Documentary Emmy® Awards. The PBS FRONTLINE documentary "The Undertaking" won an Emmy in the "Outstanding Arts & Culture Programming" category. MORE

On October 30, 2007, the award-winning PBS documentary series FRONTLINE aired an intimate, in-depth look at funeral service. FRONTLINE: The Undertaking took television audiences behind the scenes of the Lynch & Sons Funeral Homes, in Clawson and Milford, Michigan, painting a powerful portrayal of the deep and profound commitment funeral service has for the families it serves.

The Undertaking is unforgettable because it is through the words of those families, and the writing of Thomas Lynch, that the hour-long documentary tells its story. Viewers experience firsthand the funeral planning process through their eyes, the value of the funeral service itself, and the ways in which the funeral directors work to help them through what is without question one of the most difficult moments in their lives.

The National Funeral Directors Association, with the generous financial support of the Funeral Service Foundation and the Heritage Club, has developed a community relations package around the documentary which contains the documentary itself, a copy of Thomas Lynch’s The Undertaking, and a study guide developed by faculty at the University of Michigan.

Because NFDA believes so strongly in the important messages of this documentary, and the need to share them with both funeral service audiences and the broader public, it is providing copies of this package both to affiliated national organizations, and to our state associations to share with their partners on the state level.

All fifty state associations received a copy of the FRONTLINE presentation, as did all mortuary science programs throughout the United States.

Below, you will find a list of those organizations who have received the materials to date. Keep checking back, as it grows every day. If you would like a copy of this community relations package to use in your own community, please contact NFDA at 800-228-6332.

AARPAcademy of Parish ClergyAcademy of Professional Funeral Service PracticeAmerican Association of Pastoral CounselorsAmerican Board of Funeral Service EducationAmerican Cancer SocietyAmerican Geriatrics SocietyAmerican Institute of Health Care ProfessionalsAmerican Monument AssociationAmerican Nurses AssociationAmerican Psychological Association Office on AgingAfrican Methodist Episcopal Church of AmericaAmerican Baptists Churches of the USAAmerican Society of EmbalmersAmerican Society on AgingAsociacion Latinoamericana de Parques Cementerios y Servicios ExequialesAssociation for Death and CounselingAssociation of Professional ChaplainsAssociation of Theological SchoolsBenevolent and Protective Order of the ElksCasket & Funeral Supply Association of AmericaChicago TribuneChildren’s Grief Education AssociationConsumer ReportsCremation Association of North AmericaDepartment of Health and Human ServicesEvangelical Lutheran Church in America – Vocation and Education UnitFederated Funeral Directors of AmericaFederal Trade CommissionFuneral Service Association of CanadaFuneral Service FoundationHospice and Palliative Nurses AssociationHospice Foundation of AmericaInternational Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral AssociationInternational Conference of Funeral Service Examining BoardsInternational Federation of Thanatologists AssociationsInternational Order of the Golden RuleJewish Funeral Directors of AmericaLos Angeles TimesLions Club InternationalMake-a-Wish FoundationMonument Builders of North AmericaMuseum of Funeral Service CustomsNational Alliance for Grieving ChildrenNational Association for Home Care and HospicesNational Association of Social WorkersNational Baptist Convention of AmericaNational Museum of Funeral HistoryNational Network of Episcopal Clergy AssociationsNational Catholic Education Association – Seminary DepartmentNational Concrete Burial Vault AssociationNational Council on the AgingNational Council of ChurchesNational Funeral Directors and Morticians AssociationNational Hospice and Palliative Care OrganizationNewsweek MagazineNew York TimesPresbyterian Church USA – Office of Theological EducationReaders DigestRoll Call NewspaperRotary Club InternationalSelected Independent Funeral HomesService Corporation, InternationalShriners InternationalTime MagazineUnited Church of ChristUnited Methodist Church Board of Higher Education and MinistryUnited States Conference of Catholic BishopsUS News & World Report MagazineUSA TodayWashington Post